Experience

Joseph Gallo Farms

• United States
• Dairy Product Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Financial Officer

  • Oct 2022 - Present

  Atwater, California, United States



Accelerator Active Energy

• United States
• Food and Beverage Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Interim Chief Financial Officer

  • Sep 2021 - Sep 2022

  Newport Beach, California, United States Manage the Accounting function; support Series B fundraising activities.



Soylent Nutrition, Inc.

• Interim Chief Financial Officer

  • 2020 - 2021

  Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Supported turnaround of this privately held B2C Ecommerce and B2B nutritional drinks company with international sales. Guided Accounting Department through significant turnover, corrected the records, trained staff and closed the books for the year. Prepared annual audit and tax schedules.



Fuji Food Products Inc. and Fujisan Franchising Corp.

• Chief Financial Officer

  • 2018 - 2020

  Santa Fe Springs, CA Two privately owned sister companies (a fresh and frozen food manufacturer and a 3 year old, high growth franchisor of 375 sushi outlets).



AvoPacific Oils, LLC

• Director Of Operations

  • 2017 - 2018

  Greater Los Angeles area A privately held, US and Mexico high-growth, early stage manufacturer/bottler of avocado and other cooking oils and food ingredients with international manufacturing and sales. Set up Oracle based software for 3 companies; negotiated and service international sales and purchasing contracts; acquired permits; developed manufacturing KPI’s; developed 12 month demand forecast and financial forecasts; oversee Manufacturing, Purchasing, Sales, QC, Logistics and Facilities.



Slavens CFO Services and Buxbaum HCS

• CFO Services

  • 2006 - 2017

  Southern California Provide interim CFO and other finance and operations services primarily to start-ups and small to mid-sized, privately-held companies: Business plans, strategy and tactics, financial projections, M&A, market expansion, process and internal control improvements, cost savings, manufacturing improvements, logistics, cost accounting implementation, and profitability strategies . Examples of projects include: ..Provided M&A seller-side support to a family-owned, branded foods manufacturer… Show more Provide interim CFO and other finance and operations services primarily to start-ups and small to mid-sized, privately-held companies: Business plans, strategy and tactics, financial projections, M&A, market expansion, process and internal control improvements, cost savings, manufacturing improvements, logistics, cost accounting implementation, and profitability strategies . Examples of projects include: ..Provided M&A seller-side support to a family-owned, branded foods manufacturer pursued by private equity buyers-worked with the Owner/CEO-cleaned up EBITDA; created due diligence documents. Owner obtained a favorable LOI in Mar17. ..Provided M&A seller-side support and process improvement services to a $100M+ branded medical device manufacturer being pursued by private equity buyers-created due diligence documents; reduced monthly financial close to 6 days. Successful sale at full asking price occurred in Mar17. ..Provided interim senior finance and accounting services that followed a $50 million private equity capital infusion for a $100M+ manufacturer and marketer of branded natural drinks. Re-built the corporate accounting department to support the Company's annual 100%+ top line growth; strengthened internal controls; expanded financial reporting to management and BOD; managed the Company through its 1st financial audit; amended prior year tax returns and, coordinated the hand-off of shared services from the Parent . ..SPST International-Family-owned innovator, manufacturer (USA / China) and marketer of branded consumer goods (toys and apparel) sold through multi-channels-set up e-commerce channel; re-negotiated payment plans with all Chinese manufacturers. ..Arkansas Short Line Railroads, Inc.-Family-owned 4 short line railroad companies and a switching company-Developed multiple-year financial and tax projections as part of an application for a state IDB. The client secured full funding of $4.3 million in 17 days after submitting the application. Show less



NEXT Proteins, Inc.

• United States
• Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• CFO (2000-04) | Vice President/General Manager(2004-05)

  • 2000 - 2005

  Carlsbad, CA A privately held innovator, marketer and manufacturer of branded nutritional bars, powders, snacks and beverages with a corporate staff of 40 in CA and 25 employees at our manufacturing plant in NV. Production of all products except bars was subcontracted to 3rd parties. International sales increased from $30 - $80 million from 2000-2004, substantially growing EBITDA. As Vice President/General Manager, I managed sales, customer service, manufacturing, purchasing, logistics and… Show more A privately held innovator, marketer and manufacturer of branded nutritional bars, powders, snacks and beverages with a corporate staff of 40 in CA and 25 employees at our manufacturing plant in NV. Production of all products except bars was subcontracted to 3rd parties. International sales increased from $30 - $80 million from 2000-2004, substantially growing EBITDA. As Vice President/General Manager, I managed sales, customer service, manufacturing, purchasing, logistics and warehouse operations. As CFO: In my 1st 90 days, I created a unified, high performance, motivated Accounting and IT Team by upgrading positions with talented, experienced staff, utilizing topgrading, and then by developing individual annual goals to instill accountability, innovation and initiative in improving financial and operational reporting and effectiveness. Strengthened internal controls by establishing cash forecasts and performance metrics for A/R and A/P, Accounting and Operations departments. Convinced owner/CEO to expand into the highly competitive Food/Drug/Mass business channel. Recruited and created an aggressive commission structure for a dynamic senior sales executive who developed this channel. New customers included Walmart, Target, 7-11, and most Big Box retailers. Identified potential savings in manufacturing and purchasing activities. Then energized senior operations management and led a cross-functional team to identify additional savings, achieving a total savings of $900,000 in the first 7 months. Negotiated with a new bank and obtained line of credit and term debt financing. Built a nutrition bar manufacturing plant in Nevada to 1) gain a strategic advantage over our competition, 2) maintain confidentiality over bar formulas and other production information, 3) reduce costs, 4) maintain control over product quality, and 5) gain control over production quantities.  Selected and implemented a corporate-wide ERP software to support growth. Show less



Sweet Factory

• United States
• Retail
• 1 - 100 Employee

• CFO and other financial management positions

  • 1993 - 1999

  San Diego, CA A venture capital backed specialty retail chain of candy and gift stores. The Company built a chocolate manufacturing plant in 1996 to supply the stores with our branded chocolates. Sales were $18 million with 50 locations in 1993 when I started and grew to $100 million with 300+ locations in 28 states and 2,000+ employees when sold in 1998. The Company was relocated to the new owner’s headquarters in Chicago, IL in 1999. Led the development of the corporate infrastructure to support… Show more A venture capital backed specialty retail chain of candy and gift stores. The Company built a chocolate manufacturing plant in 1996 to supply the stores with our branded chocolates. Sales were $18 million with 50 locations in 1993 when I started and grew to $100 million with 300+ locations in 28 states and 2,000+ employees when sold in 1998. The Company was relocated to the new owner’s headquarters in Chicago, IL in 1999. Led the development of the corporate infrastructure to support the roll-out of stores nationally. Developed financial reporting and administrative support systems for budgeting, reporting, forecasting, analysis, compliance and asset management from manual to fully-automated ERP processing, significantly improving staff productivity and the quality, accuracy and timeliness of financial and operational information. Created a PC/SKU-based, gross margin reporting system that generated monthly margin, markdown, discount and shrink reports used to evaluate product profitability and the performance of Purchasing, Marketing and Store Operations departments. Negotiated with a new bank a 50% larger debt facility with a lower interest rate. Member of senior management team that orchestrated the sale of the Company. Prepared related financial reports and conducted road show presentations. Show less



Western Lumber Company / Westy's Retail Hardware Stores

• Acting CFO and other financial management positions

  • 1989 - 1993

  San Diego, CA Joined this private equity-owned regional building materials supplier with retail stores, wholesale, distribution, specialty milling and lumber (forest products) assembly divisions with annual sales ranging from $40 - 100 million. Assisted the newly-hired CEO and CFO to turn around the company during a recessionary period from 1988 - 1993 that saw county building permits drop by 90%. Also charged with reducing excessive inventory shrink and improving internal controls and financial… Show more Joined this private equity-owned regional building materials supplier with retail stores, wholesale, distribution, specialty milling and lumber (forest products) assembly divisions with annual sales ranging from $40 - 100 million. Assisted the newly-hired CEO and CFO to turn around the company during a recessionary period from 1988 - 1993 that saw county building permits drop by 90%. Also charged with reducing excessive inventory shrink and improving internal controls and financial reporting. Developed internal operational and accounting controls and reports that immediately reduced excessive inventory losses by $500,000 to 0.3% vs. the 0.5% industry standard. Eliminated the bureaucratic operating philosophy in the Accounting department to instill a sense of urgency and operational efficiency, reducing the monthly closing period by 50% with improved accuracy in financial reporting. Selected and implemented a new corporate-wide ERP software/hardware system which decentralized information processing and analysis, improved corporate-wide accountability, generated more accurate financial reporting that used average cost accounting, and reduced IT staff from 14 to 4. Monetized the private equity owner's investment in 1993 for an amount greater than planned and was rewarded with a significant performance bonus. Show less



Deloitte

• Business Consulting and Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Manager-Audit

  • 1980 - 1989

  San Diego, CA; Cleveland, OH Big 4 accounting firm where I provided audit, tax and consulting services to small and mid-sized, privately and publicly held companies in the industries of medical device manufacturing, high tech manufacturing, transportation, retail, hotel franchises, real estate and construction. Chosen for international exchange program with the Firm's New Zealand office.